Trade News

Each day TFO Canada publishes a sample of trade news on the Canadian import market along with any new, updated or changed regulations and legislations regarding international trade; countries in which TFO Canada offers services and on the export sectors which it promotes.

West Coast Congestion Impacting Canadian Trade, Says Association

In its bulletin posted February 3, CIFFA, the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, noted that it had written, on behalf of its members, an open letter to ocean carriers serving West Coast ports outlining increasing concerns arising from port congestion.

Both the Shipping Federation of Canada and the B.C. Chamber of Shipping on behalf of their respective members replied “with reasoned and informative responses”, the association said.

According to CIFFA, the letters outline steps being taken by the ocean carriers to alleviate some of the congestion issues and indicate that the situation is being taken seriously. Nonetheless, there is little that carriers can do that will fix the problems in the short term. As the Shipping Federation stated in their response “The fact of the matter is that we are all hostages of the labour situation that continues to unfold on the US West Coast, and any meaningful improvements to the challenges we face will be inextricably linked to the resolution of that situation.”